Chapter 2043: Selection of the Soul-Calming Secret Technique

Winds Rise in Kyushu

The passage leading to the ancestral land goes near Kyushu. So, Lu Ye took a detour to visit Kyushu and chatted with Xiao Jiu for a bit.

The last time, Lu Ye, Old Tang, and Wu Zhuo decided on the realm fusion. News of this has recently spread. Many Heavenly Mystery Pillars have been placed in the Green Radiance Dao Realm, opening portals to Kyushu. Currently, the entire Green Radiance Dao Realm is undergoing a massive migration. Once the migration is mostly complete, the Heavenly Mystery Pillars will guide the Green Radiance Dao Realm to converge with Kyushu. Only then will the true fusion of realms occur. At that time, the Green Radiance Dao Realm will completely merge into Kyushu, becoming one, and Kyushu's foundation will be greatly enhanced.

Wu Zhuo is primarily responsible for this matter, with Xiao Jiu assisting secretly. Everything is progressing smoothly.

Without much delay, Lu Ye continued his journey with Yiyi and Amber. They arrived at the entrance, and guided by the Seven-Colored Divine Lotus, he opened the passage and entered the Soul Clan's ancestral land.

Yiyi and Amber naturally returned to Lishang's Lotus Continent to cultivate, while Lu Ye headed straight for the Starry Sky Pond.

A short while later, he met Xuyuan again.

Lu Ye's main purpose for this trip to the Soul Clan's ancestral land was to cultivate his Soul Suppression Secret Art. He had suffered too many disadvantages before; when confronting veteran Sun-rank cultivators, his soul power confrontations were often at a disadvantage. This wasn't just because his soul cultivation was inferior to others; the primary reason was that he hadn't had time to cultivate his own Soul Suppression Secret Art.

If soul power is compared to a person's physical strength, then when Lu Ye fought against those veteran Sun-rank cultivators, he was bare-handed. But others had their own weapons, and these weapons were their Soul Suppression Secret Arts. Naturally, Lu Ye couldn't gain an advantage.

This is a path every Sun-rank cultivator must go through, and it's also a gradual, painstaking process. One could say that the cultivation journey of a Sun-rank cultivator largely involves continuously refining their Soul Suppression Secret Art.

The advancement of the Sun-rank realm isn't just about accumulating one's own magical power; more importantly, it's about the precipitation of the divine soul. Because this realm is the cultivation of "spirit" among essence, qi, and spirit.

Lu Ye had some understanding of the Soul Suppression Secret Art. He had previously consulted Ma Bin and discussed it with Su Yuqing.

However, looking across the entire starry sky, the most authoritative experts in divine souls were undoubtedly the Soul Clan. No matter how strong others were, they still fell short compared to the Soul Clan, as the cultivation of soul power was fundamental to them.

Lu Ye stayed with Xuyuan for several days, listening to his profound yet easy-to-understand explanations of the various mysteries of the Soul Suppression Secret Art. Lu Ye benefited greatly.

To cultivate the Soul Suppression Secret Art, the first thing one faces is a choice.

Everyone's Soul Suppression Secret Art is different. Only by finding the one most suitable for oneself can cultivation yield twice the results with half the effort. If a Soul Suppression Secret Art is not suitable, forcing its cultivation will naturally hinder progress.

Lu Ye now faced this choice...

He was troubled.

His trouble wasn't a lack of options, but too many.

Under normal circumstances, the Soul Suppression Secret Art chosen by Sun-rank cultivators is usually their most proficient soul technique.

When cultivators reach the Divine Sea Realm, their divine soul is born, and their soul body is formed. No matter which school of cultivators they belong to, they will practice some soul techniques to varying degrees as a means of fighting enemies.

Building a Soul Suppression Secret Art based on one's most proficient soul technique is undoubtedly the best and most suitable choice.

So, what was his most proficient soul technique?

Lu Ye inwardly examined himself, looking at the intricate patterns on the burning leaves of his Talent Tree, and fell into deep thought.

The spirit patterns on the Talent Tree, if constructed and activated with magical power, are spirit patterns. But if he constructs and activates them with soul power, they become divine patterns!

For example, Divine Edge: he could activate it with magical power to enhance his Mountain Crushing Blade, increasing its destructive power. He could also construct it with soul power, turning it into a soul attack to target an enemy's divine sea.

It could be said that most spirit patterns are also divine patterns, and for him, every divine pattern was a soul technique.

This made it difficult. He had no difficulty constructing these divine patterns. It seemed he didn't have one that was particularly proficient; one could say he was proficient at all of them.

Seeing him deep in thought, Xuyuan smiled slightly. "There's no need to rush the choice of a Soul Suppression Secret Art," he said. "Such matters ultimately require careful consideration."

"It's not that there aren't suitable ones..." Lu Ye regained his composure. With a slight shift in his thoughts, his soul power surged. "Elder, what do you think of this?" he asked.

Xuyuan immediately focused his sight to observe. Soul power is usually invisible and intangible; unless highly concentrated, ordinary people cannot see it. But the Soul Clan was different. Even the weakest Soul Clan member could clearly see the flow of soul power. This ethereal power was clearly visible to them.

At that moment, in Xuyuan's vision, he saw Lu Ye's soul power flowing out. It then quickly spread, with extremely tiny patterns interlocking and embedding. In the blink of an eye, it formed an elliptical, spherical object before him.

Xuyuan watched, dumbfounded...

After so many interactions with Lu Ye, he had never known that Lu Ye was also a spirit pattern master!

He naturally saw that Lu Ye was constructing a divine pattern at that moment. However, the speed was simply terrifying. Innumerable yin and yang dualities appeared in an instant, perfectly interlocking without any errors. Such astonishing speed shouldn't even be possible for a Sun-rank cultivator.

He couldn't understand how Lu Ye did it.

The only thing that puzzled him was that the divine pattern Lu Ye was constructing at this moment... looked like an egg?

It wasn't over yet. Xuyuan could sense that the egg he saw was just an outer shell. Inside, more yin and yang dualities were continuously forming and interlocking, then evolving into more wondrous changes.

*Crack...* A soft sound emanated, and the eggshell, as if solid, shattered open. Immediately, a giant figure emerged from within the eggshell.

It spread its wings, flapping them gently. It circled and cried above Lu Ye's head. Powerful soul power fluctuations swept in all directions, as if it were truly a living creature!

Faint golden, shadow-like substance flowed over its body, as if flames were burning.

"Fire Phoenix!" Xuyuan recognized it at a glance. This winged creature soaring in his vision was none other than the Fire Phoenix, one of the Four Symbols.

"Elder, would this technique work as a Soul Suppression Secret Art?" Lu Ye asked. Constructing such a soul technique in an instant seemed to cause him no significant exertion.

Xuyuan's eye twitched; for a moment, he didn't know how to respond.

What did "would it work" mean? This would work *fantastically*!

Using the Fire Phoenix of the Four Symbols as a Soul Suppression Secret Art! Once such an attack was unleashed, it had the full potential to kill enemies beyond one's rank. Ordinary Sun-rank cultivators would be utterly unable to resist.

However...

After a brief ponder, Xuyuan said, "This technique is extremely profound and complex. If you truly make it your Soul Suppression Secret Art, the energy consumed during cultivation will be substantial."

When cultivating a Soul Suppression Secret Art, the more complex the soul technique serving as its foundation, the greater the cost of cultivation and the slower the progress.

This was a matter of course.

There were many spirit patterns on the Talent Tree, and many could become divine patterns. However, techniques like Divine Edge and Sacred Guard were not suitable as foundations for a Soul Suppression Secret Art, because they were too simple and monotonous. If Lu Ye truly chose these two, cultivation would naturally be extremely fast, but they might not play a significant role when contending with enemies.

So, while Lu Ye seemed to have many choices, in reality, he didn't have that many. The Fire Phoenix divine pattern was the best choice. This thing was much more complex than ordinary divine patterns. Using it as a foundation, the cultivation difficulty would be greater, but once cultivation was successful, the role it could play in combat was incomparable to Divine Edge or Sacred Guard.

"Furthermore, this soul technique is purely offensive, which is somewhat extreme. Young man, you should know that the Soul Suppression Secret Art is named 'Soul Suppression' because its primary purpose is to guard the divine soul. Therefore, most Sun-rank cultivators' Soul Suppression Secret Arts are primarily defensive. Because no one can predict if they will encounter stronger enemies, if one can firmly guard their divine soul, they can perform better in combat," Xuyuan added.

Lu Ye nodded. "That's true." Suddenly, he asked, "Elder, what did you choose as the foundation for your Soul Suppression Secret Art?"

Xuyuan smiled slightly. "Our Soul Clan's cultivation is different from yours. For all Soul Clan members, after reaching the Sun-rank, the foundation of their Soul Suppression Secret Art is their own body; there are no other choices."

"Based on your own body?" Lu Ye was slightly astonished.

Xuyuan explained, "The Soul Clan has no flesh-and-blood bodies. Our soul bodies *are* our physical bodies, so this is our only choice."

Lu Ye couldn't help but recall his previous battle with Zixuan. Before Bichens died, he had activated his Soul Suppression Secret Art, but Xuyuan casually blocked it. At the time, Lu Ye hadn't seen any signs of Xuyuan employing a specific technique. Now he finally understood the reason.

A Sun-rank Soul Clan member *is* their own Soul Suppression Secret Art. Naturally, they don't need to employ any other means.

Lu Ye could also do this, building his Soul Suppression Secret Art based on his own soul body. However, if he did, once a soul battle occurred, others could activate their Soul Suppression Secret Arts while he could only face them with his raw soul body. This would greatly increase the risk and, of course, would not be worthwhile.

Seeing Lu Ye lost in thought, Xuyuan smiled slightly. "Go to the Forest of Heroic Souls. Once there, you might gain something."

"Forest of Heroic Souls?" Lu Ye looked curious. He had entered and exited the Soul Clan's ancestral land many times but had never heard of this place.

"That is the resting place of our deceased Sun-rank Soul Clan members," Xuyuan explained. "After their deaths, their soul bodies dissipate, but many of the soul techniques they cultivated in life are preserved. There, you can witness all kinds of soul techniques, and perhaps find one suitable for yourself. Every Sun-rank Soul Clan member visits that place before crafting their own Soul Suppression Secret Art. It's also considered a place of inheritance for our Soul Clan."

This was clearly a forbidden area of the Soul Clan, accessible only to Sun-rank cultivators. Ordinary clan members were not permitted entry. Although Lu Ye was human, the Soul Clan had never treated him as an outsider.

Given Xuyuan's kind intention, Lu Ye naturally couldn't decline. Although he knew that even if he gained something in the Forest of Heroic Souls, the Soul Suppression Secret Art he would ultimately choose would still be one from his Talent Tree, if it was just to broaden his horizons, there was no issue.